Officials said previously they believe people who are unaccounted for aren't necessarily dead or trapped in debris. They say many are probably safe and but failed to tell friends and family where they are. Cell phone service in Joplin remains spotty.

The city was hit by the deadliest single tornado in the U.S. since the National Weather Service started keeping records. It killed at least 125 people, and the estimated number of injured has climbed to more than 900.

Update: The first person on the missing list from the Joplin tornado is very much alive.

The Associated Press found 75-year-old Sally Adams sitting on a wooden chair and cuddling her pet cat Thursday. When AP told Adams she was listed as missing, she laughed and said "Get me off of there!"

Neighbors rescued Adams on Sunday after the storm destroyed her house and took her to a friend's home.

Her relatives had called a hot line and posted Facebook messages saying Adams was missing. Adams says she lost her cell phone in the storm and had no way to reassure family.

Her son Bill Adams says he told authorities his mother was alive after he learned she was safe, yet she remained on their unaccounted-for list at midday Thursday.